Destiny in Manhattan
by nweeks3
Summary: In the sixth incarnation of My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 5, We learn for the first time how Alice and her husband met. Based on a prompt from Twitter user tinyposen.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Last spring I joined this Twitter group chat, and one of the user's in the chat wondered how Alice went from a mean spirited leader, to the reformed person you've seen in my stories today. Well, let's hope this stories sums it all up.**

This story takes place in mid-September 2024.

CHAPTER 1:

On September 16th at 7am, Ken entered Grace's bedroom to wake her up for the day.

"Morning, sweetie. Time to get ready for school." Ken said, attempting to wake his daughter up.

"Morning, Daddy," Grace said, coughing.

"Grace, what happened to you?" Ken asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I was okay when I went to bed last night," Grace said.

"Let's check your temperature." Ken said as he grabbed a thermometer and placed it in Grace's ear.

"Is it bad?" Grace asked.

"101. Sorry, Grace, but you're way too sick to go to school today." Ken said.

"You can't leave me home alone." Grace said.

"I'm not going to. I'm going to call my work and tell them I'll be a bit late today. Unfortunately your mother had already left for work, so I can't leave until she gets home." Ken said as he left the room to make some phone calls.

The first person he called was Alice to let her know what was going on.

"Hey, babe. What's up?" Alice asked, answering.

"Hey, Alice. Listen, Grace isn't feeling well this morning." Ken explained.

"What's wrong with her?" Alice asked.

"When I came into her bedroom to wake her up, she was coughing a lot. I took her temperature, it was 101. So, she's too sick to go to school." Ken explained.

"I was afraid that was going to happen after last night." Alice said, worried.

"So anyway, I'm going to call my boss and tell him I'll be late for work and then I'll see if I can find someone to take care of Grace until you get home." Ken said.

"Great. I'd duck out to do so if I could, but we're shorthanded today. Two of the baristas called in sick themselves." Alice explained, panicking.

"Oh, no. Listen, don't panic, okay. I'll see who I can get to look after Grace until you get home. See you tonight." Ken said.

"Later." Alice said, hanging up before getting back to work.

Ken called his work to mention he'd be late and said he'd be there as soon as he could. He then started to make phone calls to a few of the Bellas, knowing one of them would have to be available in the event of an emergency. His first choice was Chloe since he knew she didn't have to work until later that day.

"Hey, Ken." Chloe said, answering her phone.

"Hey, Chloe. I know this is last minute, but I have an emergency." Ken said.

"What kind of an emergency?" Chloe asked.

"Grace is sick, Alice can't leave work because they're shorthanded, and I have to get to work myself. Could you come over here and look after her, please?" Ken asked, panicking.

"Okay. Just calm down. I'll be there in an hour." Chloe said.

"Thank you so much." Ken said relieved.

* * *

One hour later, Chloe rang the doorbell and Ken went to answer.

"Hey, Chloe. Glad you're here." Ken said as Chloe came in.

"Where is she?" Chloe asked.

"She's in her bed. You have my number in case something goes wrong, Alice gets off work at noon, so she should be back by about 12:30. Thank you so much once again for helping me out on such short notice." Ken said.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'll call you if I need anything." Chloe said.

"Okay. Follow me upstairs before I go." Ken said.

They came into Grace's bedroom, where she was still in bed.

"Should I make her some soup?" Chloe asked.

"That won't be necessary; she just finished breakfast right before you got here." Ken said.

"Okay." Chloe said.

"Grace...sweetie, I have to go to work now. Chloe will be here to take care of you until your mother gets home." Ken said as he gave his daughter a goodbye kiss.

"Bye, Daddy." Grace said.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Some of you might read this and wonder, "how is this relevant to how Alice reformed?" Well, just hang on; her backstory starts in Chapter 3.**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

At about 12:30, Alice came home from work.

"Grace, I'm home." Alice said.

She came upstairs and found Chloe reading a storybook. "Oh...hey, Chloe."

"Hey, Alice. Ken called me and asked if I could look after Grace until you got home." Chloe explained.

"Glad he did. Was she well behaved for you?" Alice asked.

"Oh, yeah. She was no trouble at all." Chloe said.

"Has she had any soup while you were here?" Alice asked.

"No. Ken told me she just finished breakfast right before I got here." Chloe explained.

"Ah, okay. Well, thanks again for looking after her." Alice said.

"No problem. I should get going, I have to get to work myself. I'll call you later." Chloe said as Alice walked her out.

"Later." Alice said as Chloe left.

After Chloe left, Alice went into the kitchen to prepare a bowl of soup for her daughter.

When she returned to Grace's bedroom…"Okay, your soup is ready. Now be careful, it's very hot. And when you're done with your soup, I'll take your temperature. Hopefully it's gone down since this morning." Alice said as she set the bowl of soup and a spoon down on the nightstand beside Grace's bed.

One hour later, Alice came back to Grace's bedroom. She noticed the empty bowl of soup on the nightstand and was prepared to take Grace's temperature and it read 99. This gave Alice a sigh of relief knowing that her daughter was starting to feel better. After Alice took Grace's temperature, she left the bedroom so her daughter could sleep.

* * *

Later that same evening at Beca, Chloe, & Amy's apartment. Beca was going through the list of people to invite for the double wedding when Chloe came in the door carrying a large pizza.

"Phew, what a day." Chloe said, feeling exhausted.

"About time you got home. I see you remembered to pick up our pizza." Beca said, noticing the pizza box in Chloe's hands.

"Yep. Half pepperoni, half sausage." Chloe remembered, removing her jacket.

"Come on, let's get this to the kitchen." Beca said as Amy walked in.

"Mmm, that pizza smells good." Amy said.

"Well, after a long day, I thought it'd be a good idea." Chloe said.

"I can see that." Amy said as she down with Beca and Chloe at the kitchen table to eat the pizza.

"So, how'd it go with Grace today?" Beca asked.

"She was so sick when I got there this morning." Chloe recapped.

"Did you make her any soup?" Beca asked.

"No. When I got there she already had breakfast. She just laid in bed the entire time I was there." Chloe said.

"Well, I hope she feels better soon." Beca said.

"Yeah. So anyway, after dinner I figured we could start going through the invitation list for the double wedding." Chloe suggested.

"Oh, yeah, we need to get started on that pretty soon." Beca agreed.

"But for now, let's eat." Chloe said as they started eating their pizza.

* * *

Afterwards...

"Okay, now that we finished our pizza, let's go through the invite list." Chloe said.

"Okay, first invitations go to each of the remaining Bellas." Beca said.

"They don't need invites, they're already going to be bridesmaids." Chloe reminded her.

"I guess you're right. But we have to invite my dad and your parents." Beca said.

"Couldn't agree more. And after that, we'll see who else to invite." Chloe said.

"Well, we can't leave out Jesse and Chicago's parents." Beca said.

"Oh, definitely. I've only met Chicago's parents once since we got engaged. But they are planning to be in town for Thanksgiving." Chloe said.

"That's nice. My dad and Jesse's parents will be flying in on November 26th so they can avoid busy airline traffic on the day before Thanksgiving." Beca pointed out.

"Are they going to be staying here at the apartment?" Chloe asked.

"No. They already booked hotel rooms. They know we don't have enough space in this apartment for all of them to bunk here." Beca said.

"Ah, I see. So, aside from all of the parents and the Bellas, can you think of anyone that may want to come?" Chloe asked.

"Actually, yes. There is this one person I want to invite…" Beca said.

"Who?" Chloe asked.

"You know about my old high school friend Sarah, right?" Beca asked.

"Oh, yeah. She planning to come?" Chloe asked.

"Well, after I send her an invite, I should hope so." Beca said.

"It'll be exciting to meet her if she actually does come." Chloe said.

"And if she does come, I've got a whole day of Black Friday shopping planned with her. But I do know it'll be a long shot." Beca said, trying not to get her hopes up.

"You might be surprised. She might love to come to the wedding." Chloe said.

"Okay, so the Bellas makes 11 (not counting us), the husbands makes a total of 15, and my dad, your parents, Jesse's parents, and Chicago's parents makes a total of 22. And also Sarah would make 23." Beca said.

"Oh, and don't forget; Jesse said some of the Trebles are planning to come too." Chloe added.

"Did he say which ones?" Beca asked.

"Yeah, well we already counted Benji. In addition to that, he said Bumper, Donald, and Unicycle will also be coming" Chloe said.

"Oh, and what about Chicago? Are any of his old military buddies coming to the wedding?" Beca asked.

"He told me he handpicked four of his old buddies for his groomsmen." Chloe said.

"Four? Who's going to be the fifth?" Beca asked.

"Well, he and Chad were best friends back in college. So he knew that it would make sense for Chad to be a groomsman as well.." Chloe explained.

"Ah, okay. So, with that said, we're at about 30 people total. I was hoping we'd have a much bigger number, but it's okay." Beca said.

"Though many of those people are bridesmaids and groomsmen, it's still going to be a successful wedding. Maybe a small one, but still…" Chloe said.

"Alright, so the Bellas, their husbands, and the Trebles are already coming. So we just have Sarah and our parents." Beca said.

"What about the kids?" Chloe asked.

"We'll ask the Bellas if their children will want to come after we send out the invites." Beca said.

"Sounds like a plan. Either way, I have a feeling this'll be a wedding to remember." Chloe said.

"Now come on, let's get these invites to the post office." Beca said as Chloe followed her out.


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Alright, everybody. Now it's officially time for Alice's backstory. Hope you all enjoy it.**

CHAPTER 3:

The next day, as Alice, Ken, & Grace were having dinner...

"Mommy, Daddy, I was wondering something." Grace said.

"Yes..." Alice said.

"How did you two meet?" Grace asked, curious.

"Do you want the full story?" Alice asked.

"Yeah! I want to know everything." Grace said, excited.

"Alright, well here goes. You know how I've often brought up my days as a Bella in college?" Alice asked.

"Yeah." Grace said.

"Well, in my college days, I wasn't always the nicest person around." Alice said.

"You weren't?" Grace asked.

"No. Your grandfather raised me to be one tough omelet." Alice said.

"But you're not made of ham and eggs." Grace pointed out.

"(chuckles) No, sweetie...it's just an expression. You see, when I was captain of the Bellas, I fought hard to make those ladies a winning group. It wasn't easy, but I didn't give up because your grandfather didn't raise me to be a quitter." Alice said.

"Did it ever work?" Grace asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Senior year, I wanted more than ever to graduate with an ICCA victory." Alice said.

"Well, what happened?" Grace asked.

The question made Alice slightly uncomfortable because she didn't want to bring up the projectile vomiting incident from that day. So she left it at..."(sighs) Somethings are just better left unsaid."

"So, what happened after that?" Grace asked prompting a flashback.

"After I graduated, I had a destiny. I may have never lead the Bellas to a national championship, but your grandfather always told me to never give up on my dreams." Alice said.

"What was it?" Grace asked.

"I always dreamed of being on Broadway. So, the summer after I graduated, I saw the chance of a lifetime when I read online that they were holding open auditions for Wicked. I remember seeing the show once when I was in high school and loved it. Elphaba's been my dream role ever since. After I bought the CD, I often would listen to Defying Gravity on a loop. It was a good thing too, because I spent the months from after I graduated to the day I auditioned listening to Defying Gravity so I could memorize the entire song in time." Alice said.

"I've never heard that song." Grace said.

"Well, one of these days I'll play it for you. Anyway, I walked into the theater on audition day with 100% confidence. But sadly, no amount of confidence or memorization can change the fact that Broadway auditions CAN be competitive." Alice said.

"So what happened after the audition?" Grace asked.

"I waited a week for a phone call back to see if I got the part." Alice said.

"And what happened?" Grace asked.

"Nothing. In fact, I didn't get a single phone call during that seven day wait. I was devastated." Alice said.

"I'm so sorry." Grace said.

"But that day wasn't a total loss, because what happened later was something I didn't expect." Alice said.

"What was it?" Grace asked.

"That same night, I went to a bar in downtown Manhattan. Sometimes having a drink cheers me up when something goes wrong. But when I sat down at that bar to have a drink, you'll never guess who sat at the bar stool next to me." Alice said.

_"You okay? You seem down about something." Ken said._

_"I auditioned for my dream role and I didn't get the part." Alice said._

_"I'm sorry. What role did you audition for?" Ken asked._

_"Elphaba in Wicked. It's a rather competitive role, so I knew it'd be a long shot." Alice said._

_"Well, you know if you're destined to be on Broadway, it could happen. You shouldn't ever give up." Ken said._

_"Yeah. My dad told me to never give up on my dreams." Alice said._

_"Well, he's right. My dad said the same thing to me. And if I hadn't listened, I wouldn't be where I am today." Ken explained._

_"Which is?" Alice asked._

_"I'm a police officer for the Paramus Police Department." Ken said._

_"Really?" Alice asked._

_"Yeah, it's about an hour from here, but I always like to come into the city for a drink after a long day at the precinct." Ken said._

_"Nice. I'm Alice, by the way." She said, prompting a handshake._

_"Ken." He said, accepting the handshake._

_"Nice to meet you." Alice said._

_"You too. Do you want to call me sometime? I could buy you dinner." Ken offered._

_"I'd like that very much." Alice said as Ken gave her his phone number._

_End of flashback._

"If we hadn't run into each other at that bar, we never would've gotten married. And we never would've had you." Ken explained.

"So did you two get married right after that night?" Grace asked.

"Oh, no...it was still a while before that big day came." Ken said when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Alice said as she went to answer the door.

"Hey, Alice." Aubrey said.

"Aubrey, Finn, nice to see you two. Please come in." Alice said as they did so.

"I heard Grace wasn't feeling well yesterday and I was coming by to see if she's feeling any better." Aubrey said.

"She's feeling much better today. Ken and I were just telling her the story of how he and I met." Alice recapped.

"Ooh, sounds interesting. I'd love to see hear some of it," Aubrey said.

"Why don't you two come join us at the kitchen table and we'll catch you up?" Alice said.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4:

Back at the kitchen table…

"So, what's Chad up to today?" Alice asked.

"He's in Jersey City helping his parents move in." Aubrey said.

"Oh, yeah; I remember you were telling me about that." Alice said.

"Yeah. Chad was telling me they were planning the move ever since his father retired from the Air Force. Not only that, Finn's looking forward to seeing his grandparents more often." Aubrey added.

"Okay, so where we on the story?" Alice asked.

"You were telling me about that night you and Daddy met." Grace recapped.

"Oh, yeah...so after I went back to my apartment I was living in at the time, I thought long and hard about that night. I was worried that it wouldn't work out seeing as how mean spirited I was in college. But after my Broadway dreams became a flop, I knew I needed something to help me get back on my feet. And remember what I said about how my dad didn't raise a quitter? Well, one thing was for certain, I wouldn't know if it would work out with him until I gave it a shot. And three days after that night at the bar, I _finally _gave your father a call. And we had our first date the following night." Alice explained, prompting another flashback.

_In a flashback…_

_Alice & Ken have their first date at the local Cheesecake Factory._

_While they waited for their food, Ken could see a nervous look in Alice's face._

"_You okay?" Ken asked, concerned._

"_Yeah. It's just that I really want something in my life to work out for once." Alice said._

"_What do you mean?" Ken asked._

"_Well, when I was in college, I wasn't exactly a nice person. I was more of a mean spirited leader. I lead this acapella group called the Barden Bellas. I fought long and hard for us to be national champions. It never happened. And then after that was my flop of a Broadway audition." Alice explained._

"_Well, that was then, okay? Something good happens to everybody, and you are no exception." Ken assured her._

"_I suppose you're right. It would be nice to have something help me back on my feet again. Who knows? Maybe this could be it." Alice thought._

"_That's the spirit." Ken said._

"_So, how long have you been a cop?" Alice asked._

"_I joined the precinct about a couple years ago." Ken said as their food arrived._

"_Ooh, that looks delicious." Alice said admiring the plate of food in front of her._

_She ordered the fish and chips, while Ken ordered a grilled pork chop._

_End of flashback._

"That date ended up being one of the best of my life." Alice said.

"I didn't know you wanted to be on Broadway." Aubrey said.

"Yeah. It's something I kept quiet during Bellas rehearsals." Alice said.

"So what happened after the date, Mommy?" Grace asked.

"Well, that date went so well that by the time I got home, I was so happy I couldn't wait to call him again for a later date. And I did...one week later." Alice said.

"It wasn't easy to always plan our dates, but we always tried to have at least one date night a week. And we stuck to it." Ken added.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5:

After the family finished dinner, Alice stepped away from the table for a bit to put the dirty dishes in the sink. When she returned, there was more of the story to tell...

"So, your father and I continued to date for the next two and a half years until this one night that changed my life forever." Alice said as she sat back down at the table.

"What was it?" Grace asked.

"It was December 31st, 2013. That New Year's Eve, your father had the idea of spending the night out in the crowd at Times Square in the freezing cold. Now, personally I'd prefer to watch New Year's Rockin' Eve from the warmth of our home. But he convinced me to give it a try. But little did I know why he dragged me out to Times Square...that is until the stroke of midnight." Alice said prompting a flashback.

_In the flashback, Alice & Ken could be seen in the massive Times Square crowd bundled up in hats, coats, and scarves when the ball drop began._

_"10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The crowd yelled as Alice and Ken shared a midnight kiss. After they kissed, Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out an engagement ring._

"_Alice Cullen...will you marry me? Ken asked as Alice looked at the ring feeling speechless. But when she noticed the ring, it occurred to her as to why Ken wanted to bring her out to Times Square._

"_YES! Absolutely!" Alice said as Ken placed the ring on her finger._

_End of flashback_

"That reminds me of something…" Aubrey said.

"Really? What's that?" Alice asked, curious.

"The night Chad proposed to me. Although we weren't out in the freezing cold like you guys were." Aubrey explained.

"You weren't?" Alice asked.

"No. In fact, back when Chad and I were dating, I was working at my old retreat called The Lodge of Fallen Leaves." Aubrey remembered.

"I didn't know you ran a retreat." Alice said.

"Oh, it's true. Anyway, it was New Year's Eve of 2016. Chad came over to my old apartment in Atlanta to spend New Year's Eve with me. After we watched the ball drop, we shared a midnight kiss, and then he popped the question." Aubrey recapped.

"Does this old retreat of yours still exist?" Alice asked.

"Sadly, no. It closed due to safety concerns after our honeymoon. And that was when we bought our house here in Paramus." Aubrey said.

"So, both of us got engaged on New Year's? I never would've guessed." Alice said.

"What are the odds of that?" Aubrey asked.

"So, what happened after that? Did you two get married right away?" Grace asked.

"No. You may not know this, but one of these days you'll realize it; it's the fact that weddings can be very expensive." Alice said.

"It's true. I can even remember how when Chad and I got married, we barely had everything ready in time." Aubrey added just before receiving a text from her husband.

The text read "Hey, babe. Just finished helping my parents move in and I'm on my way back home."

Aubrey replied "Okay. Finn and I went over to Alice's house for a bit. See you in a bit."

"Everything okay?" Alice asked Aubrey.

"Yeah. Chad's on his way back home so we should probably be going too. But before we go, I have a proposition for you…" Aubrey said.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"Since being a Broadway star didn't work out, maybe I can offer you something just as good…" Aubrey started.

"Go on…" Alice said, eager to know Aubrey's suggestion.

"Amy happens to know the location of this karaoke bar in downtown Manhattan. How would you like the opportunity to perform 'Defying Gravity' at the next karaoke night?" Aubrey suggested.

"If I do, would you sing it with me as a duet?" Alice asked.

"Sure. How's this Saturday night?" Aubrey suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Alice said.

"Great. I'll text you later with the details. Come on, Finn; let's go home." Aubrey said as she and Finn left.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6:

Later that night as Alice was tucking Grace into bed…

"Mommy, can you finish the story for me?" Grace asked.

"You're going to be up all night if I don't, do you?" Alice thought.

"Yeah. When did you and Daddy get married?" Grace asked.

"Well, after we got engaged, we spent the next two and a half years saving up for our wedding. It wasn't until the summer of 2015 when we finally agreed on a date for our wedding. And on May 31st, 2016, the big day arrived. It was a small ceremony; just his parents, my parents, and a few of the Bellas from my senior year were in attendance. And then a month later we went to Vancouver for our honeymoon." Alice explained.

"Where is that?" Grace asked.

"It's in Canada." Alice said.

"Can we go there sometime?" Grace asked.

"We'll see. Anyway, about two years after our wedding, we had you. And you've been our little ray of sunshine ever since." Alice continued.

"And I still am, right?" Grace asked.

"You betcha. Now get some sleep; you don't want to miss another day of school. Good night, Grace." Alice said giving her daughter a goodnight kiss before turning off the bedroom light on her way out of her daughter's bedroom.

"Good night, Mommy." Grace said before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

* * *

The following Saturday night, Alice, Aubrey, and Amy arrived at a karaoke bar in downtown Manhattan.

"How'd you find out about this place, Amy?" Alice asked.

"Last Valentine's Day, I came here for a drink only to find out my boyfriend got a job here as a bartender." Amy explained.

"Well, I can see why you'd definitely recommend this place." Aubrey said as Amy went up to the bar.

"Amy, glad you came tonight." Bumper said.

"Of course. Two of the Bellas prepared something for karaoke night." Amy said.

"I see they're signing up right now." Bumper said, noticing Aubrey and Alice talking to the emcee.

"How about a Diet Coke while we wait." Amy suggested.

"Coming right up." Bumper said as he went to pour Amy a glass.

While Amy was enjoying her drink, the karaoke emcee grabbed the microphone and got the crowd's attention.

"Alright, everybody. Welcome to karaoke night!" The emcee said as the crowd cheered. "Here's the deal: If you want to sing something tonight, just come up front and sign up on the sign-up sheet. Alright, first up tonight we have a duet between two ladies. Let's welcome to the stage, Alice Gibson and Aubrey Donaldson!" The emcee said, introducing them as the two Bellas took to the stage,

"Good evening, everyone." Aubrey said, speaking into the microphone.

"Alright, ladies; what are you two going to sing tonight?" The emcee asked.

"Defying Gravity." Alice said.

"Ooh, from Wicked." The emcee said.

"That's right. Everyone, years ago I auditioned for the role of Elphaba on Broadway. But sadly did not get the part." Alice said.

"But tonight, we're here to show you that just because one door may close, another just might open." Aubrey added as the crowd cheered.

"Alright, ladies. You ready?" The emcee asked.

"Play the track!" Alice said, confident as the emcee did so.

During the song, Alice and Aubrey kept trading off solo lines. It was a short three minute rendition.

* * *

Afterwards…

"Thanks for recommending this place, Amy." Alice said.

"No problem." Amy said.

"Though, might I recommend that if we do this again, we go somewhere more family oriented." Alice suggested.

"Especially since we can't bring our kids here til' they turn 21." Aubrey added.

"Well, maybe next time we could look for a restaurant or a coffee shop that has a karaoke night. In a big city like this, there's bound to be quite a few." Alice suggested.

"And if we find a good one, we should have all the Bellas come with us. Maybe all of us Bellas could do something as a group or we could each sing individual songs. Who knows?" Aubrey added.

"How about we talk to the Bellas about going to a karaoke night at our next Bella get together." Amy suggested.

"And we'll make sure to pick a place where we can bring our kids." Aubrey added.

"Thanks for singing that song with me up there, Aubrey." Alice said.

"Anytime. And just remember: If you ever decide you want to try again to audition on Broadway, we'll all be supportive." Aubrey said.

"Great. But for now, I'm going to focus on the accomplishments that have gotten me someplace: My family and the Bellas." Alice said as the three girls shared a hug before exiting the bar.

THE END!


End file.
